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Golden Kings slip to 2nd with home court series split

Date Posted: 2011-11-25

The Shiga Lakestars put pressure on the Ryukyu Golden Kings during their weekend visit to Okinawa, upending the hometown favorites Saturday 84-79, but losing Sunday 82-73.

The split was enough to nudge Okinawa out of the top spot in the Basketball Japan League Western Conference, dropping the Golden Kings to 9-3. Narito Namizato was high scorer in Saturday’s loss, tallying 19 points while shooting five-for-eight from the three-point zone. Teammates Jeff Newton and Reggie Okosa each scored 15. On Sunday it was Dzaflo Larkai as high scorer with 26 and 15 rebounds, while Reggie Okosa had 21 and Narito Namizato popped in 17.

The Northern Happinets moved up to a 9-2 record in the Eastern Conference with a pair of wins over the Niigata Albirex BB, winning 105-89 and 92-75. Niigata is now 4-5. The defending league champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix scored a big pair of wins over the Iwate Big Bulls, 91-82 and 83-74 to improve to 6-5. The Big Bulls are now 1-10.

The lowly Takamatsu Five Arrows continue their losing way, falling to the Kyoto Hannaryz 76-58 on Saturday, then 77-67 on Sunday. The Five Arrows are 0-11 on the year. The Osaka Evessa scored a pair of wins themselves, outdistancing the Oita HeatDevils 74-66 and 94-83 in overtime Sunday, to boost their record to 5-0 on the road, and 10-1 overall for the season.

The Saitama Broncos split a pair with the Toyama Grouses, winning 93-74 Saturday, and then the Grouses evened the score 96-70 on Sunday. Saitama falls to 4-7, while the Grouses are 5-6. The Fukuoka Rizing split a series with the Shimane Susanoo Magic, with the Magic winning 90-78 on Saturday, and the Rizing willing 95-88 on Sunday. The Rizing is now 7-4, while the Magic is 6-5.

The Miyazaki Shining Suns won Sunday over the Brave Warriors, 82-79, while playing in Ina, Nagano Prefecture.